


Observed Behaviors of Michigan Werewolves

by whatthedubbs



Series: How To Be A Werewolf in Space [2]
Category: How To Be A Werewolf (Webcomic)
Genre: Consequences of Eli's actions in OBWAT, Hay is for horses., M/M, Post 'Oh Brother Were Art Thou', Sort of still Subnautica AU, Vincent and Eli may eventually engage in no-pants activities, Weird Werewolf Harems, and lots of gardening, but they will not be explicit, getting sappy about toothpaste brands, graphic depictions of hand-holding, takes place seven weeks after the events of OBWAT, they react differently because the circumstances are very different from canon, werewolf council
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-05-17
Updated: 2018-05-17
Packaged: 2019-05-08 05:15:34
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,427
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14687241
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/whatthedubbs/pseuds/whatthedubbs
Summary: Seven weeks after being rescued from planet 4546B, and one week after being released from government custody; Eli has to appear before a special meeting of the Werewolf Council to receive disciplinary action for biting Vincent.





	Observed Behaviors of Michigan Werewolves

**Elias**

 

“Elias, we realize you had very good reasons, and were faced with an impossible moral dilemma. There was no right way out of your situation that did not also have consequences. Many of the council members feel that in your place they would have made the same choice

“However, rules exist for a reason, and we agree that we cannot make an exception in your case. Effective as of tomorrow, you must break your ties with the Ross pack for at least two full years. We understand that the Walters’ have expressed their willingness to take you in temporarily until you are on your feet. If you accept, membership in the Ross pack will also be denied to them until your two years have passed.”

I nod silently as Jim Wilde, the current council spokesman, explains my punishment.

At least they didn’t make my mother apologize for my actions. She hates doing stuff like that.

Then the council meeting’s done; or at least my part of it. Mom throws me a small smile as I get up from my chair, and Vincent’s mom (who asked me to call her Maria almost right away) gives me a thumbs-up when I pass her seat.

I’ve already accepted her offer, so I guess I’ll be going home with them tonight. I smile back at her before I close the door behind me and go to find Vincent.

 

**From Vincent’s Journal:**

Eli was in conference with the werewolf council for about half an hour after lunch. They’re supposed to be formalizing his punishment for turning me without permission. Never mind that I gave him explicit consent, and that we exhausted all other alternatives before he took action. And that he then coached both Mal and I through six weeks of intense government and medical observation so we wouldn’t get caught.

We drove up from Red Moon so that Mom and Dad could go to this werewolf council meeting. Eli’s mother, Sara, invited us after the council said they were going to pursue disciplinary action against Eli for biting me.

Mal and I spent most of the time he was in the meeting dodging questions about our time on 4546B. We’re allowed to talk about it (Company policy officially encourages us to talk about it), but I’m not about to try and explain everything that happened to a bunch of werewolves I’ve never met before. Mal and I told mom and dad about it, and as far as I’m concerned they’re the only people who we need to explain it to outside our therapists.

When Eli gets out of the meeting he looks tired, but not as worried as he did going in. A couple of the younger werewolves wave at him as he makes his way toward us across the yard, but most of them seem to be keeping their distance.

He explains the council’s decision to us. It’s not too dissimilar from what Sara told us to expect. She stressed that we weren’t obligated to take him in, but mom and dad insisted he stay with us, at least until he’s had a chance to figure out what he’s going to do next.

It’ll be nice to have him around again to help me with my gardening. I’ve got about a week left before it starts getting too hot to be planting new things, and I could really use a hand getting the beds around the front of the house cleaned up so I can focus on the vegetables and the apple trees I’ve been experimenting with in the back. I’m hoping that they’ll actually bear fruit this year.

 

**Malaya**

“Hey,”Eli says when he’s close enough to speak softly. We’re standing in the corner of his mom’s garden closest to the house while the other younger weres flicker among the trees at the edge of the woods.

“-Is for horses,” Vince responds.

I groan at their stupid sappy pun-greeting. “Stop flirting when I’m right here, guys.”

“But Mal!” Eli throws a hand to his brow like some sort of Victorian lady about to have a fainting spell, “I just can’t help myself! Your brother’s just so _hot!”_

I take advantage of his exaggerated theatrics to smack him in the stomach, causing him to double over, wheezing. He recovers quickly though, and moves closer so he can hold Vince’s hand like the giant sentimental puppy he is, rubbing the back of his neck awkwardly with his other hand.

“Anyway. It looks like I’ll be living with you guys for a while?” He smiles shyly at Vincent, who’s definitely pleased with this turn of events even if his face is mostly unreadable.

“Hey, that’s great. Maybe Vince won’t spend so much time moping with you around!”

“I’m not moping.”

“Awww! I missed you too.”

Vincent rolls his eyes, but doesn’t deny it. Eli grins and turns back to me.

“Is it all right if I steal your brother away for a bit before dinner? I promise to bring him back.”

“Sure. Just try not to leave any marks!”

“No promises!”

 

**Elias**

The rest of the evening passes in a blur. There’s Irena’s terrible potato salad, probing questions about our misadventure in space, and a few glorious minutes where Vincent allows me to tug him behind the peonies to make out. He tastes like the same stupid generic brand of toothpaste he got for us aboard the _Crescent Lake_ that I totally didn’t go buy myself the moment I got home. Don’t judge me.

Eventually things wind down, and I have to grab my stuff from my room and say goodbye to everyone. Fortunately, I don’t have tons to pack, since most of my non-training clothes went down with the _Aurora_ , and I haven’t had time to replace them.

I have to run the gauntlet of family members before I get to the door. Mom’s the last one in line, and she wraps me up in a hug so tight I feel my feet come off the floor and my ribs creaking.

“I’m gonna miss having you around, Kiddo,” she whispers in my ear. “I’m proud of the young man you’ve grown into, even if you do cause me more trouble than all your siblings combined.” She lets me back down to the floor, holding me at arms length. “Call me when you get settled in, okay? I may not be your alpha anymore after tonight, but I’m still your mom, and I love you.”

“Love you too, mom,” I manage, my throat tight.

She gives my shoulders one last squeeze, then steps back so I can get out the door.

I toss my bag into the back of the Walter’s car and climb in next to Vincent in the back seat. He bumps my shoulder with his own, and then reaches down to interlace our fingers once I’m buckled in.

We’re all pretty tired, so the three of us in the back conk out almost as soon as we hit the freeway. It’s about two hours drive back to Red Moon, and I’m groggy and half asleep when Maria shakes me awake to let me know we’ve arrived. We all stumble out of the car and up the front steps. I barely have time to take in the appearance of the outside of the house before we’re inside and Vincent is dragging me up the stairs to his room.

I take a quick look at my phone before I fall into bed. There’s a photo message and about a thousand responses that I missed while I was asleep. Frowning, I open it to see a slightly grainy picture of Vincent and I sleeping on each other in the backseat, our held hands clearly visible even in the low light. The caption reads:

 **Maria Dysangco:** Look at these two! They’re adorable.

 

The responses are mostly from my family:

 

 **Sara Ross:** I’m printing this out and hanging it next to his Bar Mitzvah photo.

 **Patricia Ross:** I am showing this to all my college friends who won’t stop asking me for your number.

 **Maggie Ross:** I will fight Mal for the right to give the first toast at your wedding.

 **Ezra Ross:** I hope you didn’t drool on him, Little E!

 **Elliot Walters:** Same here, Sara. Maria’s already printing out a copy to put up next to Vince’s astronaut portrait.

 

They go on for a while, then:

 

 **Vincent Dysangco-Walters:** Eli, turn your phone off and go to sleep. We’re getting up early to work on the garden tomorrow.

 

Oops. Bedtime, I guess.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So! I've decided to continue this universe a bit more because I had some more ideas for stuff I wanted to do in it. Mostly, I wanted to show that there are still consequences for Eli in this universe, even though the circumstances are very dissimilar. 
> 
> In this universe, Marin and Marisa do not live in Crescent Lake (which I have had to rename Red Moon because I used Crescent Lake as the name of a starship in the last part). They may move in later, but for Reasons they won't be living within the town proper. My thinking is that Marin probably retired from the Alterra corporation to start her own private practice after they were released. Marisa still technically works for them, but managed to get a year of paid vacation in return for a few seminars for other medical staff.
> 
> I'm not sure if Connie and her werewolves will appear in this. My thoughts initially are that because Elias never discovered Mal, Connie didn't either, and so eventually passed away when she couldn't get enough magic out of her werewolf batteries to keep her wounds healed. Not sure whether her werewolves or Ziva survived. I'll put them in if I think this story needs the tension. Maybe Connie died just after the Aurora crashed, which would explain why nobody knew she was a werewolf but Vincent at the start of Oh Brother, Were Art Thou?
> 
> Also: Hello Malaya as a new narrator! I have no idea how much I'm going to be using her, but I figured there needed to be a third point of view to keep things narratively consistent with OBWAT. There the third perspective was provided by the audio logs, but in this setting I can't readily have them. I think Mal will make for a more engaging narrative force anyway. 
> 
> Not sure if I'm going to keep using texting conversation. It was useful in this chapter, though. 
> 
> I think at some point I'm going to have to commission Shawn to draw a bunch of scenes from both of these; like the photo Mal takes of them in the last chapter of OBWAT, and the one of them sleeping on each other in the car.


End file.
